Thermobiosis
by Veldeia
Summary: Sequel to Cryobiosis. A month after the incident in the Arctic, a simple rescue mission at the home front turns into a fiery disaster. Post-movie, gen, pretty basic drama/hurt/comfort.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: After several months of writing nothing but school stuff, I decided to try my hand at fic again, now that I'm on holidays and have plenty of time to spare. This might not be my best story ever, but at least I wrote something, yay! This is a sequel to my story Cryobiosis, and similar in spirit: pretty predictable, traditional drama/hurt/comfort, with no pairings. The story is finished, I'll be posting the rest of it over the next few days.

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Damn, he was bored.

As much as Tony hated hospitals, the as-good-as endless period of convalescence at home was almost worse than the days he had spent staring at boring TV-shows and flirting with nurses. A few days short of a month after his little accident in the Arctic, he was still under strict doctor's orders to stay out of the armor, and everyone around him had teamed up to make absolutely certain that he followed those orders.

He was no longer officially on sick leave, he could attend meetings, he could do design and repairs at his workshop, but none of it could make up for the fact that working as Iron Man was still off-limits to him. He missed the suit. He missed the action, the adrenaline, and even more than those, he missed the feeling that he could actually do some good. Business dealings, paper work and tinkering would never give him that.

He leaned back and glanced at the suit schematics filling the screens in front of him. He rested his right hand on his slightly achy left shoulder - now with extra titanium, implanted in the surgeries that it had taken to get all the bones back where they belonged. The good news was, the fine motor functions of his hand weren't impaired in any way. The bad news was that his shoulder might never be quite the same again. He'd regained most of the use of it already, thanks to his physical therapist and Pepper. If it wasn't for Pepper, he would probably have missed most of his PT sessions and skipped all of the exercises he had been given, so it was a good thing she was annoyingly persistent about these things.

During the last few weeks, Tony had done a dozen upgrades to his suit. He'd done the same to Rhodey's suit, and he'd had Rhodey do test flights, so he also knew that everything worked. Still, that wasn't the same as doing the tests himself, especially since he didn't want to ask Rhodey to do any really risky, extreme stuff. And as long as he wasn't allowed to do test flights, Tony was stuck designing more upgrades.

He was still staring absently at the screens, his thoughts lingering somewhere between boredom and self-pity, when his phone rang.

It took a good minute before he began to make any sense of the call - the number was an unknown one, and whoever the caller was, they seemed to be on the verge of panic. "Mr. Stark, I know I shouldn't have bothered you directly, but since you're you - I mean, you're Iron Man, after all, I thought that, well, the security folks have already contacted the fire department and they're doing their best, but -"

"Whoa, whoa, hey, you need to slow down a bit," Tony said. "Who're you, again, and where's the fire?"

"I'm sorry, sir, this is Jones, from logistics, I know you've got no idea who I am, I'm just a grunt, really, but there was an explosion in assembly plant three, and the fire's spreading, and there were people working there at that time, and -"

As he listened to the frantic explanation, Tony held his hand over the cell phone's microphone and told Jarvis to search the media for anything related to this. The screens were still empty when Jones finished speaking, which wasn't all that surprising, since the explosion had taken place only a few minutes ago. Apparently, this guy's first reaction to the whole thing had been to pick up his phone to contact Iron Man. Tony definitely appreciated that.

"All right, Jones, thanks for letting me know. You did the right thing. Help is on the way."

Tony placed the phone on the table and stood up. He knew perfectly well that what he was supposed to do was to call Rhodey, so that War Machine could take this case. Then again, that would take time, and those were his people in there, people who worked for him, trapped in his plant. Even though no one seemed to have any idea of the cause of the explosion yet, it screamed "sabotage" to Tony. His safety protocols were strict, and all related technology was top-notch. The possibility of an accident leading to an explosion leading to an uncontrolled fire was virtually non-existent. Besides, assembly plant three was where most of the projects for S.H.I.E.L.D. were done. There was no way that could be a coincidence.

The worst thing that could happen was that he'd overstrain his shoulder, which would give him some serious pains and aches and cause a setback in his physical therapy. It was nothing he couldn't handle, when lives were at stake.

"Jarvis, seems it's time for Iron Man to fly again," he declared, already pulling on his undersuit.

"Sir, you are still under doctor's orders not to take up any activities that will place significant stress on your injured shoulder."

"Yeah, and you're still hard coded to obey my orders, which means that you can forget about whatever the docs say. I'll use an override if I have to. I know you hate it when I do that."

"I'm incapable of 'hating' anything, sir," Jarvis replied - but nevertheless, didn't push his point any further, which Tony took for resignation.

The very second he stepped on the platform, the door to his workshop opened, letting in an anxious-looking Pepper. Her expression went from a worried frown to an angry glare as soon as she spotted him.

"Jarvis, don't you dare put that suit on him, and Mr. Stark, get away from there, right now. You know as well as I do that you can't do Iron Man missions yet."

"Pepper, I've got to! There's a fire at -"

"At assembly plant number three, eastern quadrant of the Stark Industries complex, yes, I know. I've already called Rhodey, and he'll be here in less than five minutes."

"That's five minutes that we shouldn't waste. In five minutes, I'll be in the suit and at the site. It's not like I'm actually injured anymore," Tony complained, still standing on the platform, although the robotic arms around him had stopped before they'd placed one single piece of armor on him.

"Right, sure you aren't. Tell me that doesn't hurt," Pepper said, and poked his bad shoulder with her forefinger, "and you're free to go."

He couldn't help flinching and gasping the unexpected stab. "Hey, your nails are really sharp!"

"Come on, Tony," Pepper said, resting her hand on his biceps now, steering him away from the platform. "This mission is Rhodey's, not yours."

**********

Rhodey drove straight into Tony's basement and leaped out of the car. He found Tony sitting behind his workstation, wearing his undersuit, and looking like a sulking kid, while Pepper stood in front of the suit platform, her arms crossed, like an an angry mother. Even though he knew the situation they were facing was serious, Rhodey couldn't help grinning a little.

He walked over to Tony and gave his good shoulder a squeeze. "Hey, give it a week or two, and we'll be doing this together again."

Tony shook his head. "I don't care about two weeks from now. What's going on right now is that my people could be trapped in there and dying," he motioned at a screen in front of him, which was showing a live camera feed from the accident site. A thick, dark column of smoke rose from a large, low building, which had the Stark Industries logo painted on its wall. There were already several fire trucks parked in front of it.

"So, forget about the pep talk, and get going," Tony finished.

Although Rhodey had his doubts about selfless reasons being the sole explanation for Tony's sullen mood, Rhodey nodded, and went on to get suited up. Almost ten minutes had already passed since the explosion, and the chances of being able to get anyone out of there alive were growing slimmer with every passing second.

"The armor should protect you from the environmental hazards long enough for you to go in there, see if anyone's around, and to get them out, but you need to be careful," Tony said, as the robots were building the metal shell around Rhodey. "The conditions are bound to be extreme. We've never tested the suits in circumstances like those, and despite all the upgrading I've done, they're not designed for sustained use in a blazing inferno. Of course, your air supply isn't endless, either. So, we'll be sitting here, monitoring your progress and making sure you stay within safe limits. Also, I've every reason to believe that this wasn't an accident. There might be bad guys in there, or more bombs."

Rhodey stepped off the platform in full armor, his faceplate still up. "You're telling me to be careful? Who are you, and what did you do to Tony Stark?" he quipped, shaking his head. "Pepper, you'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, like follow me, right?"

"You can count on that," she said sternly. "I'll tie him up if I have to."

"Ooh, I'd like that," Tony said with a wink. "Handcuffs would do the job, too. Or you could just sit on my lap, that might be just as effective. You'll have to test it to find out."

"In your dreams, Mr. Stark."

"That does it, I'm outta here," Rhodey said, closed his faceplate, and took off.

He'd done several missions alone during Tony's sick leave, but this was the most dangerous one yet, and the one closest to home. It felt weird and wrong to dash into action at Stark Industries, while Tony stayed at home with Pepper, staring at screens and going nuts with the lack of activity and the general feeling of uselessness. Then again, they'd almost lost Tony in the Arctic, and his shoulder had been a complete mess. He really needed the extended time-out.

At full speed, Rhodey covered the distance from Tony's mansion to the Stark Industries complex in a few minutes. He didn't need instructions to find the exact location, since it was obvious from afar. From the video he'd seen, Rhodey hadn't realized how big the plant was. The amount of billowing black smoke escaping through the hole the explosion had made in the roof was overwhelming from a close distance.

"I'm here," he told Tony and Pepper through the radio.

"Jarvis has the plans for the building," Tony said, and the said diagrams showed up on Rhodey's HUD display. "Pepper's been in contact with the fire department, so they know you're there. Not that they're really doing anything at the moment. The fire isn't going to spread outside that building, and the conditions in there are so difficult that they can't go inside."

The layout of the plant seemed simple enough: a rectangular structure, with a personnel entrance and several small rooms in two storys adjacent to it, and then a huge big hall, filled with machinery, with several large doors for vehicles.

Rhodey landed in front of the personnel entrance - a simple, thick-looking metallic door. The fire trucks were parked nearby, and the firefighters waved at him as a greeting. He lifted a silvery hand in reply.

"You might want to stand back," he told them and the gathered crowd. Then, feeling more than a bit nervous, he grabbed the door handle and turned it. The door opened to reveal a long corridor filled with smoke, pitch-dark except for the flicker of flames at the far end. Through the suit, Rhodey couldn't say anything about the temperature, but he could almost see the heat in the air. He switched the HUD to infrared. It would help him to spot any trapped people.

"All right, I'm going in," he declared, both to the onlookers and to his friends.

He stepped into the corridor, and closed the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Pepper put her Blackberry back in her purse, shaking her head. "The PR department really isn't satisfied with that, Tony," she told him.

They now had an exact idea of the amount of missing persons: there had been fifty people working in the plant at the time of the explosion, and eleven were still unaccounted for. And that was pretty much all they were telling the media at the moment. Tony insisted that they couldn't give out any details about the explosion yet, not as long as they had no idea of the exact cause themselves.

"Too bad for them," he answered her. "It's not their job to be satisfied, it's their job to keep the media satisfied. I'm sure they can do that. If they can't, I might have to consider some personnel changes."

"Shouldn't we contact S.H.I.E.L.D., in case this falls into their jurisdiction?" she asked.

"I'm one hundred percent certain it does, and since that's the case, I'm sure they're already on it. They're probably at the site right now," Tony said, motioning at the screens in front of him.

The display to the left was showing news about the incident, including a live video feed, the middle one was linked to Rhodey's suit and showed whatever he saw - at the moment, a corridor leading deeper into the building. The one to the right was filled with numbers, suit data and Rhodey's vitals and whatnot.

"You know, we're essentially useless here," Tony went on. "Redundant. Jarvis is keeping track of all this stuff too, and he's probably doing a better job than I ever could."

"I disagree, sir," Jarvis said. "For one, I am unable to provide any sort of emotional support, should that be required."

"Yeah, because I'm so very talented at that sort of stuff," Tony said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "I should be there," he pointed at the news screen, where a reporter was explaining that War Machine had just appeared at the site and entered the burning building.

"Tony, you know that's out of the question," Pepper said, for what had to be the tenth time today, and the gazillionth time this month.

Tony was worse than most of the kids Pepper had ever known - the truth was, she was amazed she'd managed to keep him in check this long. It had really been a trying period of time for all of them, first the accident and the following days of worry and uncertain waiting, and then, these weeks of ridiculously difficult babysitting. Luckily, she'd had Rhodey, Happy and even Jarvis to help her.

"That's not what I meant," Tony replied, sounding exasperated. "I'm not entirely hopeless. Rhodey's already there, I already gave up. I should be at the site, talking to people, organizing things, instead of sitting here and twiddling my thumbs. It's my company, after all."

Of course, she had to admit that she was sometimes a bit too quick to think the worst of him. "Well, I think it's good someone's keeping an eye on how Rhodey's doing, but if you're sure Jarvis can handle it..." she let left the sentence unfinished, eyeing the row of sports cars at the other side of the room. Driving was on the list of things Tony wasn't allowed to do yet, both because of his shoulder, and the pain medication he was taking for it.

"Nah, on second thought, I think I'll just stay here. It is sort of interesting to see how the suit performs in those circumstances. It really is," Tony said unconvincingly.

"I'll call Happy anyway," Pepper said, and did so, just in case. If they needed a ride, it'd be better if Happy drove, since that would be less of a blatant reminder of Tony's current limitations.

Tony turned his attention back to Rhodey. "How's it going in the sauna?"

"So far so good," Rhodey's voice came through slightly distorted.

"Readings look good, too. Feeling hot?"

"Ha ha, really funny. And seriously speaking? No, not at all. It's amazing. I'm walking through fire and I don't feel a thing. The firefighters will be green with envy once they find out how well this works."

"I could build a downgraded version of the suits that they could use," Tony said thoughtfully.

"Dollar signs in your eyes already?"

"Hey, I'm just thinking about all the lives it would save. Besides, we can't throw a barbecue party yet, you've only been in there for five minutes, twenty-seven seconds."

Rhodey's suit camera showed him climb a staircase into what seemed to be another corridor, with rows of doors in both walls. The thermographic image wasn't exactly easy to interpret.

Rhodey opened the first door to the right, then the second one, and the third one - which revealed two people on the ground, one of them prone, the other hunched close to him on all fours. The closed door seemed to have kept the fire out of the room, but there was probably almost no air left in there.

"Thank God!" one of them said, coughing. "I thought we were dead for sure!"

"Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here," Rhodey told them reassuringly. The image shifted back to the doorway as Rhodey turned his head. She could guess he was wondering how he was actually going to do what he said. Even though he was safe in his suit, there was no way he could take two unprotected people all the way to the entrance unharmed.

"No, you dimwit," Tony muttered, and then louder, "Rhodey, the ceiling. You're in the top floor."

"Oh, right," Rhodey answered. "Stand back," he said to the people in the room, aimed his palm repulsors at the ceiling, and shot a hole right through it.

"See, you can make a difference from over here, as well," Pepper told Tony, as they watched Rhodey leave the assembly plant, carrying two people to safety.

Maybe Pepper was being overly optimistic, but it seemed to her that Tony might actually learn a lesson or two from this mission.

**********

Rhodey took the two survivors to the EMTs. They were both still alive - hopefully he'd got to them in time. He had to be careful lifting them, because even though the suit kept him cool, its outer surface was getting warm enough to cause burns.

Rhodey headed back into the inferno, this time using the hole he'd made in the roof as an entrance. He actually didn't know a whole lot about fires. Sure, he'd faced explosions and even fires before, in military settings, but nothing like this. Fire was a foreign element, a wild force of nature that he didn't understand. Luckily, Jarvis had more information than he did. Sometimes, it felt sort of scary how much the AI knew about everything.

Compared to the emotionless numbers and data Jarvis kept spouting, it was a relief to have Tony and Pepper looking over his shoulder as well, as his mission control. It was a great combination: Jarvis for the factual details, Tony for the quick, intuitive thinking that no AI could match, and Pepper for the human, emotional side of things. A good team - even though Rhodey knew Tony hated being stuck where he was, and Pepper needed the patience of an angel to put up with him.

Continuing his sweep of the second floor corridor, Rhodey found two more people, and three more in the rooms along the other corridor of the same floor. He was able to get everyone out safely, too, punching more holes in the roof. He hoped it didn't cause a risk of the fire spreading - Jarvis assured him that it didn't. Besides, the folks from the fire department were keeping an eye on it.

By the time Rhodey had checked the entire second floor, Jarvis announced that he was only narrowly within the preset safety margins. He might have to abandon the mission soon.

"Did you get that, Rhodey?" Tony asked - was that concern in his voice? "I don't want you risking your ass doing this. When Jarvis says it's not all right, you get out of there, right away."

"You wouldn't, if you were here," Rhodey retorted.

"This isn't a competition," Pepper said, her voice more distant. She probably wasn't as close to the microphone as Tony was. "Rhodey, I know you're smart enough not to risk your life for some macho need to prove yourself, unlike someone else who wears an iron suit."

"Gold-titanium alloy," Rhodey and Tony told her in unison.

"Anyway, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'm going in again," Rhodey added.

So far, everything had gone fine - it had been almost too easy. On the other hand, he'd started with the easiest part. With seven people out of the fire, there were four still missing, and Rhodey had now combed through all of the small rooms. It was time to enter the hall, which was the source of the fire. Since it was a huge, open space, it was bound to be a lot more difficult to search. The chances of finding anyone still alive were slim, but that wouldn't keep him from doing his best.

He entered the hall through the large hole the explosion had left in its roof. Thick, black smoke was still pouring out of it, so he couldn't get a very good picture of what it actually looked like.

He landed in the middle of a fiery chaos. The flames rose almost all the way from the floor to the ceiling at two storys' height, dancing on massive machinery, long conveyor belts and tables. All around him, vehicles, components, and half-assembled things he couldn't recognize were burning in different colors. A good part of the hall was filled with collapsed structures and debris. Rhodey could guess that going through that area would take more time than he had left, considering what the suit could take. He'd search the parts that were relatively easy to reach, and then he'd have to call it quits.

Unable to come up with any better methods, Rhodey simply started making his way forwards, looking around, scanning the area as carefully as he could. Even with thermographic vision, it was nearly impossible to make out any details. At least there were no signs of any bad guys. If there was some crazy flame-throwing supervillain behind this, they weren't here anymore.

Rhodey no longer felt like he was looking for survivors, he was looking for fatalities. Slowly but undeniably, he was starting to feel the heat through his armor, although it wasn't anywhere near bad enough to make him consider quitting yet.

He had almost covered one quarter of the hall, with no sign of anyone, neither dead nor alive, when there was an ear-splitting boom, the floor trembled, and something heavy collided painfully with his legs, knocking him off his feet. He could feel both metal and bones twist in ways they were definitely not meant to.

He fell to the floor, and the back of his head hit the concrete hard. The last thing he heard were three different voices - a man, a woman and an artificial intelligence - calling out to him in worried tones.


	3. Chapter 3

"Rhodey!" Pepper exclaimed in unison with Tony, their voices overlapping Jarvis's equally alarmed "Sir!"

"My God, what was that? Another bomb? Is he all right?" she asked, leaning closer to the screens. In the news feed, there had been a distinct flash and a boom, and now she could see that a part of the building's roof had caved in. Rhodey's suit camera was showing nothing but black.

"Rhodey! Rhodey, do you read?" Tony repeated, ignoring her questions, his gaze fixed on the screen with the suit data. "Jarvis, are communications still online? Are all the readings correct?"

"Positive, sir. It appears Mr. Rhodes is unconscious."

"At least his vitals seem stable. Can you tell if he was hurt?"

"Considering the damage the lower parts of his suit took, it's highly likely that his legs are injured. In addition to that, there's a strong possibility of head trauma, and shock could also become an issue."

"And his air supply?"

"Not an immediate concern. He resupplied before going in for the last time, and now has forty-five minutes left."

"Right, not an immediate concern. He'll probably be in serious trouble because of the temperature long before that. Is the suit's cooling still holding?"

"Positive, well within safe limits. Actually, it seems to be holding better than might be expected. The fact that he is stationary is beneficial."

"Of course. Moving around and doing stuff generates more heat than just lying flat. Still, he hasn't got forever." Tony stood up, a determined look on his face.

Pepper knew exactly what he was thinking. "Tony, no," she told him, placing a hand on his back.

He turned around quickly, forcing her to draw back her hand. "You suggest we just leave Rhodey in there? He's going to die!"

"That isn't the only possible outcome, sir. It's entirely possible that he'll wake up and be able to get out on his own, or that the fire will settle enough for the firefighters to rescue him before he runs out of air," Jarvis suggested helpfully.

"And it's entirely possible he doesn't, or it doesn't, and he'll die. I can save him!"

"But you could just end up getting hurt, too," Pepper said. "You're physically not up to this yet."

"I've got a sore shoulder, Pepper, it's not like it's going to kill me. Tell me, did you have this conversation with Rhodey when he set out to save me from that blizzard?"

That was a really low blow, and so completely past the point and plain wrong that Pepper could barely believe Tony had actually said it. It was as if Tony was suggesting that she liked him more than she liked Rhodey. Maybe her feelings for the two of them weren't exactly identical, but still, that was ridiculous, and stupid, and she wasn't going to stop to consider it right now.

"That has nothing to do with this, it was a completely different situation," she said, doing her best not to shout. "There are other people out there who can help. Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. could do something? And what about the Avengers?"

"So far, that's barely more than a name, the team's nowhere near functional yet, and the people are scattered around the continent," Tony shook his head. She didn't miss the fact that he was slowly walking towards the platform as they talked. "I've got to go, there's no other way."

The worst thing was, she knew he was right. He probably could get Rhodey out of there, and it was entirely possible he wouldn't cause himself any serious harm doing it. Still, there was always the possibility of the opposite happening, of things going wrong and her losing them both... Then again, who was she kidding? They both knew how this conversation was going to end.

She crossed her arms and shook her head, but stayed silent.

Tony stepped on the platform. "Jarvis, the suit," he ordered. "And be gentle. It's been a while since the last time."

Pepper sighed and shook her head again, as the robotic arms started assembling the armor on Tony. Even though he clearly tried to cover it, she could see him flinch when the metal parts closed around his bad shoulder. She had no idea when he'd last taken his painkillers. Then again, she could guess that with the amount of adrenaline flowing through his veins right now, that wasn't going to be a problem. Even though his expression was grim, there was a glint in his eyes that she hadn't seen in almost a month.

When he was all set, Tony faced her and placed his metal-covered hands on her arms. "This is a lot simpler than what Rhodey did. I go there, grab him, and get out, and that's it. You can keep an eye on us from here, Jarvis will help you. It's going to be all right."

"You better see to that. Good luck with your mission, Iron Man," she said, managing to keep her voice steady, despite the blaze of worry, fear and even anger filling her mind. "Be careful."

"I'll do my best, Miss Potts."

**********

God, how he had missed flying.

Among all the stuff Tony hadn't been allowed to do during the last three-and-a-half weeks, flying had been on top of the list. The other stuff he did in the suit mostly wasn't all that fun - blowing things up could be fun, but fighting really wasn't. Saving people, well, he wouldn't call that fun, maybe "fulfilling" was closer to the mark. But flying, flying was definitely fun. Better than driving, almost better than sex.

As much as he enjoyed the flight, enjoying it also made him feel guilty. If Rhodey hadn't gotten into trouble, Tony wouldn't have been here. Had he tried to rush into action in the suit without a situation as dire as this, Pepper would've probably convinced Jarvis to knock him out. He had wanted to get back in the armor, and he'd got what he'd wanted, but at a price that was completely unacceptable.

Tony didn't bother to stop and greet the onlookers when he reached the site. He knew Pepper had already informed S.H.I.E.L.D. and the fire department about what had happened. He headed straight for the huge hole in the roof of the burning plant.

He might have been stretching the truth a bit when he'd told Pepper that his part was easier than Rhodey's had been. With the second explosion - he didn't know whether it had been another bomb or something combustible that'd went off - a part of the roof had collapsed, and as soon as Tony had entered the building, he saw that most of the structures inside had fallen apart, too. What he was faced with looked like the combination of a fire and an earthquake. There was no sign of anything but flames and rubble.

Rhodey had been right about one thing: it was incredible to be able to walk through fire just like this, without actually feeling it. The fact that Tony had designed the suit himself, and knew full well what it was capable of, didn't make it any less amazing. And again, he found himself feeling guilty about having fun, when he was racing against time, trying to save Rhodey's life.

"How's Rhodey doing?" he asked Jarvis.

"Still unconscious, regardless of my continued attempts to wake him up."

"That can't be good. Keep trying. Can you pinpoint him for me?"

"Not very accurately. He is within this area," Jarvis said, and a part of Tony's view lit up bright blue. It wasn't that big, maybe thirty by thirty feet - but it was in a part of the hall where the debris was piled up in a ten-foot-high mound.

Tony tried to think of some way to make this easier. If he could remotely access Rhodey's suit and command it to make a sign of some sort, a quick burst of the repulsors, for example, or simply light up the chest beam, that would give him a more exact position. Of course, he couldn't do that, and he could only blame himself. He had been paranoid enough to code Jarvis in such a manner that as long as the occupant of a suit was unconscious, the AI's hands were pretty much tied, and outside control was out of the question. Tony also couldn't use his repulsors to blast away the rubble, because the risk that he'd hit Rhodey was too big.

There was no fast way to do this, he'd just need to start digging. He seized the corner of a huge steel panel, probably a piece of the collapsed roof, and began wrenching it out of the way. Even with the suit on, it wasn't a trivial task, and he felt his shoulder protest at the strain. It actually took him a few minutes to move the panel away, and by the time he was done, he was out of breath. He knew he wasn't exactly in top shape, since he had spent a good part of the last weeks in bed rest, and the rest of it doing just light work, but the suit more than made up for it.

"Sir, I recommend taking breaks every now and then," Jarvis noted, probably picking up the change in his vitals. "It would ease the strain on the suit's cooling system, as well as the stress on your body."

"I can't," Tony panted. "There's no time."

"It's been fifteen minutes since the second explosion, Mr. Rhodes still has half an hour of air left."

"Even this is cutting it much too close."

"Tony, Jarvis is right, you shouldn't push yourself too hard," Pepper said through the radio. Tony had actually forgotten she was listening all the time. "Rhodey took breaks, too."

"No, he didn't. He left the building to get people out of it, and came back as soon as he could. I can get all rest in the world once we're both safely out of here."

Tony began pushing aside more debris, doing his best to figure out which parts he should move so that he could get deeper as fast as possible. He tried to keep the amount of heavy lifting to a minimum, but there was a lot of it that simply couldn't be avoided. Continuously handling stuff that was burning or smoldering made the suit's outer surface so hot that he could've fried eggs on it. Inside the suit, the cooling systems were working overtime, already past safe limits, and starting to fail. It was getting warm. Apparently, it was starting to show, too, since Pepper started nagging at him again.

"Come on, Tony - your body temperature's rising. Jarvis says you're risking heat exhaustion if you keep going on like this. You could stop for a few minutes, get out and open your helmet."

Taking his mind off the task at hand to answer her, Tony actually began to register how awful he felt. Jarvis was right, of course. He couldn't take this much longer. His shoulder was worse than it had been in weeks, and he felt sick. The idea of stopping and getting out, stripping off the suit and maybe sitting under an ice-cold shower was incredibly tempting - but he couldn't do that. He wasn't sure he'd be able to force himself to return if he left. He couldn't allow himself to even consider leaving, not before he was done here. And he couldn't listen to her, or she'd convince him to abandon Rhodey.

"Pepper, no. I can't. Sorry. Jarvis, kill the radio connection."

"Sir, Miss Potts is right to be concerned, you should -"

"No, I shouldn't. Shut up, Jarvis."

"Sir, I wouldn't -"

"Wasn't the command clear enough? I'm putting you on mute."

This time, there was no answer, which was the correct response from the AI. There was still an assortment of error messages flashing on the HUD, but those were easy to ignore.

Having dealt with the distractions, Tony concentrated on the pile of debris in front of him again. He had ten minutes left, and a lot of work to do.


	4. Chapter 4

"Pepper, no. I can't. Sorry. Jarvis, kill the radio connection," Tony said, and after that, nothing, no matter how loud she shouted at the microphone. "Jarvis, can't you do anything about that?"

"Sorry, Miss Potts, but he shut me out as well, and his commands are binding. We can't get through to him, if he doesn't want us to."

"But that's just - that's stupid, and childish, and - what does he think he's doing, isolating himself like that?"

"I'm afraid he's not thinking clearly at all. The circumstances are affecting with his mental status."

"You mean... He's getting sick?" Pepper glanced at the display to her right, which was now split in half, showing both Rhodey's and Tony's readings. Tony's temperature was 100.9, and it had been rising steadily. His breathing and heart rate were way above normal, as well.

"I would say Mr. Stark is already suffering from heat exhaustion, and there's a significant risk of heatstroke, which is a life-threatening condition. Confusion and irritability can be symptoms of both."

"What about Rhodey?"

Jarvis had mentioned earlier that Rhodey was growing worse, sliding towards shock. Pepper had forbidden Jarvis from telling that to Tony, seeing as he was already working too hard. Besides, Jarvis had also noted that it was still likely that Rhodey would run out of air before he'd succumb to his injuries.

"Mr. Rhodes has no serious heat-related symptoms, most likely thanks to his inert status. The debris piled on top of him may have provided additional protection. Nevertheless, he requires immediate medical attention."

This was the worst case scenario. Pepper bit her lip, staring at Tony's suit camera screen, which showed that he was still digging, with no sign of slowing down. She shouldn't have let him in there, she should've called someone, S.H.I.E.L.D., the fire department, anyone - but she hadn't, and now there was nothing she could do but sit here and watch and feel horrible. She wondered if she should just walk away from the screens, because she wasn't sure she could bear this much longer, Rhodey slipping away and Tony literally working himself to death.

A soft knock at the door stopped her miserable train of thought. She looked up to see Happy standing behind the glass screen.

"Jarvis, let Happy in, please," she said.

The door slid open, and Happy stepped into the shop. She felt like running to him and wrapping her arms around him, because he had showed up at exactly the right moment, just when she needed someone solid and sensible. Instead, she walked over to him, and said, "God, I'm so glad you're here," doing her best not to break into tears, her voice quivering nevertheless.

"Now, now," he said, patting her back a bit awkwardly. "What's going on? I thought Tony would be here, as well."

"You haven't been following the news?" she said. "No, he's not here, he's there, though he really shouldn't be - and I -" she glanced at the screens at Tony's workstation. What good could she do here, anyway? "I think I'd like to be at the site as well. Let's go."

"All right, Miss Potts."

"How many times have I told you to call me Pepper?" she said, and headed for the stairs.

"All right, Pepper," Happy said, and followed her.

Once they were both sitting in the Rolls, on the way to the Stark Industries complex, Happy spoke up cautiously. "You still didn't tell me what happened."

Pepper sighed. "Rhodey dashed into danger when Tony couldn't, got hurt and trapped, and Tony went after him even though he shouldn't, and now they're both in there, and in trouble."

"The usual, then," Happy said bluntly.

"The usual? Happy, they could both die!"

"It's still the usual. I'm not saying I'm not worried. I'm worried. I like them both, and Mr. Stark's a great employer, but that's what they do, right? They always live on the edge. I'd be more surprised if they weren't close to death every other day."

As bad as she felt, Pepper found herself smiling at that. She couldn't imagine hearing anything like that from anyone else. Happy was right, of course. This was the way their lives had been, ever since Tony had first put on that armor. It was never run-of-the-mill, it was always epic, always life-and-death.

"If only life could be simple and boring and safe instead... It's been so wonderfully calm and quiet when Tony's been on sick leave."

"Would you really like that?"

"Not having to watch people important to me almost getting killed on a regular basis? What kind of a question is that?"

"No, no, I mean, having a boss with an ordinary, boring way of life. Working for someone who never does anything more hazardous than golf."

"I guess... Well, no, not really, but..." Pepper wasn't sure herself. Being Tony's PA had never been an easy job, and she had always enjoyed the challenge, even though there were many parts of the job that she didn't like. Maybe there really was something about how everything was always dangerous and larger than life - it gave things perspective, made the small joys and short periods of peace and quiet feel even more precious.

"I don't know," she finally answered. "What about you, then?"

"My life's simple," Happy replied, without a moment's hesitation. "These days, I mostly just drive Tony's cars, seeing as he doesn't have a lot of use for a bodyguard anymore. Nothing larger-than-life there. As ordinary as you can get."

"I see to his timetables and make sure he eats and sleeps, that's simple too, if you put it that way."

Happy shrugged. "But you don't choose to see it that way, and it's not the whole job description."

"No, I guess it's not," she said. Happy didn't answer, so they spent the last few minutes in a thoughtful silence.

As soon as Happy had stopped the car, Pepper got out and walked over to the crowd of onlookers, who were being kept at a safe distance from the site by a line of Stark Industries security guards and policemen. She spotted Agent Coulson, who was standing away from the assembled people, next to the fire trucks, talking to a firefighter. She made her way to them, pushing her ID in the face of the security guard who tried to intercept her, without even bothering to slow down.

The firefighter tried to usher her away too, raising his hand in a stop sign. "Sorry, Miss, this area is off limits."

"It's all right, she's Mr. Stark's personal assistant, I was hoping to meet her," Coulson informed him, and turned to greet her. "Miss Potts. We haven't heard anything ever since Iron Man entered the building. What's the situation?"

She looked at the building, and the column of smoke still rising from it. It looked thinner than before. Maybe the fire was finally abating - but both Rhodey and Tony were still in there. She glanced at her watch. Rhodey was almost out of air.

"I wish I knew," she said softly.

**********

Rhodey woke up to someone shaking him vigorously, making his head hit the inside of his helmet. He grumbled in protest.

"Rhodey?"

He muttered something that hopefully sounded like "Yeah." His head was as heavy as the metal around it, and about as dense. The air inside his helmet was warm and thick. He couldn't concentrate, he couldn't think, and all he could remember was fire and chaos and a general feeling of urgency.

He opened his eyes, and saw Iron Man's easily recognizable profile above him, framed with flames. He was pretty sure Tony wasn't supposed to be here. Was he really here? Was Rhodey just seeing things? The way his head felt, that sounded perfectly possible.

As he slowly grew more awake, he also started to feel more, and all too soon, the feeling of pressure inside his skull and on his legs turned into pain so bad that his vision blurred and he found himself groaning aloud.

"Rhodey, it's okay, I'm going to get you out of here, just give me a moment, I need to get the rest of the debris off you, it's going to take a while, I'm sorry," Tony said, his voice sounding weird, somehow. Maybe it was just the suit. Rhodey couldn't bring himself to answer him, because it took most of his concentration just to stay conscious.

Tony disappeared from Rhodey's field of vision, but he could hear him repeat "I'm sorry" like some sort of a mantra. Maybe Rhodey was missing stuff and barely able to think, but that struck him as odd. It wasn't like Tony, he usually never apologized for the stupid things he did. On the other hand, getting Rhodey out of here definitely wouldn't be stupid.

A small eternity later, Rhodey felt the weight pressing on his legs shift, the agony doubled, and the flames above him faded to black.

He woke up to someone shaking him vigorously, jarring his head against the inside of his helmet. He groaned in protest.

"Rhodey, you still with me?"

"Yeah," he muttered in reply, though he wasn't exactly sure about it. His head felt like it was filled with lead, and the air was almost too thick to breathe. He couldn't concentrate, he couldn't think, and all he could remember was flames and ruins and hurry.

He opened his eyes, and saw Iron Man hovering over him, fire reflected from the red-and-gold of his armor. He knew Tony shouldn't have been here, and wondered whether he was just dreaming - and got the strongest feeling of déjà vu. Hadn't he already gone through this?

Then the pain intensified again, and he forgot about everything else, biting his teeth together to keep himself from crying out.

"Okay, I'm going to give you a lift out of here, it's probably going to hurt you even more, but hang on in there," Tony said.

Rhodey felt Tony wrap his arms around his upper body, and they were rising off the ground, away from the flames, and his legs felt like they were on fire, too, and he passed out once more.


	5. Chapter 5

Rhodey seemed to be semi-conscious, answering Tony in little more than unintelligible groans, but at least he did answer, which was more than Tony had dared to hope. He hadn't got the time to stop and get any more detailed information about Rhodey's status. Of course, he could've always asked Jarvis, but the AI had been so damn annoying that he didn't feel like turning on the audio again. Instead, he got the rest of the debris off Rhodey as fast as he could, grabbed him and took off. He knew that moving Rhodey was risky and might make his injuries worse, but it wasn't as if Tony had any choice.

He took them out of the building through the hole in the roof, located the ambulances, and took Rhodey to them. The outer surface of the War Machine armor was so hot that Tony didn't even try to put him on a gurney. Tony set him on the ground instead, opened his faceplate so he could get air, and called for the fire department to start spraying him with cold water, so that they could get the suit off him as fast as possible.

Tony noticed Pepper, Happy and Agent Coulson approaching them. They would know how to open Rhodey's suit, so Tony wasn't really needed anymore. He'd done all he could, now, although he wasn't sure he had really done his best. He could've done better, he should've done better. He could only hope the others would do their jobs better than he had.

He greeted his friends, told them he was all right, and asked them to see to Rhodey. He stood and watched the EMTs work a while longer, but it only made him feel useless and guilty. He turned his back to the scene and walked away, ignoring everyone who tried to talk to him. His armor's surface was still radiating heat, so people were quick to step out of his way.

He couldn't get rid of the thought of how what Rhodey's legs had looked like, the armor below his knees smashed, bent, blackened and stained with blood. Rhodey was injured, he might die, or even if he survived, he could lose his legs, end up a cripple, and it would be all Tony's fault. Rhodey shouldn't even have been in that fire. Tony should've been there instead, from the beginning. He shouldn't have listened to Pepper the first time she'd told him not to go.

He walked on, lost in his thoughts, without paying any attention to the surroundings, ending up somewhere in the middle of the complex, away from the accident site and the people.

It was all Tony's fault that Rhodey had been wearing that armor in the first place, not just today, but in general. Why had he even made that suit for him? Risking his own life in the suit was all right, but making his friends risk theirs - what had he been thinking?

On some level, he was aware that he wasn't thinking straight at all, that he was being stupid and self-pitying and that it made no sense, but it didn't help. He felt awful. He was pretty sure that the suit was the only thing still keeping him upright. He felt shaky and sick inside it. Really sick.

He wrenched his faceplate open, fell to the ground on all fours and threw up.

He was too tired and too dizzy to even try to get up anymore. He crawled to the nearest wall and sat with his back against it, staring into space.

Way to go, Iron Man, he thought. Your first mission after a month's break, and you end up getting your best friend killed. Not to mention that they had never gotten the last four missing people out of the fire, so they were dead, too, his employees, casualties in what had most likely been an attack against him and his company. Dead all because of him.

He closed his eyes, hoping he'd fall asleep or pass out, because the way he felt, both physically and mentally, was almost more than he could take.

He saw flames against the backs of eyelids, but he was still all too conscious.

Well, maybe he deserved it.

**********

Pepper had never seen Rhodey this badly hurt. Usually, he wasn't as reckless as Tony during missions, and ended up less scraped and bruised. He actually thought about what he was doing, instead of just flinging himself at enemies like Tony often did. Now that she thought about it, the Arctic incident was the only time she was sure she had seen even Tony look worse than Rhodey did now. His face looked gray, and repeated attempts to wake him up only made him groan weakly. Maybe it was a good thing he was so out of it, because she could barely imagine how painful his injuries had to be.

It took them much too long to get the armor off Rhodey - once they had cooled it down, they found out that some of the locking mechanisms were twisted and didn't work. They actually needed the firefighters to cut through some of them. Below Rhodey's knees, the armor was so badly smashed that the EMTs decided to leave it in place.

Pepper gave the medics what information she had on Rhodey's status so far, although it wasn't all that much. She wondered if there was some easy way she could transfer all the data Jarvis had to them. If there was, she didn't know it. Tony probably would.

As soon as she started looking around to ask him, she realized he was nowhere in sight. She'd expected him to be standing close by, or then being tended to by the medics himself, but she couldn't see him anywhere near the other ambulances, either. Happy hadn't seen where he had gone. A few people from the rescue crews mentioned that they'd seen Iron Man walking away, and she got a general direction from them.

She headed for that direction, taking running steps. Tony had told her he was all right when she'd seen him by the ambulance. She had been overwhelmingly relieved to hear that and to see him actually standing there, obviously not badly hurt, and she had turned her attention to Rhodey, just like he had asked. She should've known better than to trust his words, when Jarvis had said he might be confused.

The Stark Industries complex was no small place to search. Luckily, he hadn't gone very far. She found him a few blocks away from the accident site, sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall.

"Tony!" she shouted, and crouched next to him, cautious of the scalding armor.

"Pepper?" he replied softly. His faceplate was up, and he was staring at her with glassy eyes, his face flushed, his breathing coming in quick, shallow gasps. "You should be with Rhodey, he's..." Tony mumbled, shaking his head. "It's all my fault. Go away, Pepper."

"I'm not going anywhere. Rhodey's in good hands, they're taking care of him, and he's going to make it. Tony, you need help, too. Come on," she said, standing up again and motioning for him to do the same. She wanted to give him her hand, to put her arm around his shoulders, but the armor prevented her from doing that.

He shook her head. "No, I'm okay - or, well, I guess I'm not really okay, but that's okay, it's no more than I deserve. I'll just stay here."

"You're not making any sense, Tony. Self-loathing isn't going to do anyone any good. Get up," she said, in the strictest voice she could manage, even though the idea that he thought he actually deserved to be sick almost broke her heart.

"I'm too tired," he replied, leaning the back of his head against the wall and closing his eyes again.

"No, don't go to sleep," she said. "You need to get up right now, Mr. Stark."

He shook his head, and stubbornly kept his eyes shut.

If she couldn't talk him into moving, then that was it, he really was staying where he was. There was nothing more she could do here. It was obvious that he needed help, and if he refused to go to it, then she would have to bring help to him.

"All right. Stay where you are, then," she said. She hated leaving him alone like this, but they were so close to the site that running was the fastest way to get the EMTs here.

She ran back to the ambulances, grabbed the sleeve of a medic who didn't seem terribly busy at the moment, and in less than a minute, she was guiding an ambulance and a fire truck to where Tony was.

Not surprisingly, he hadn't moved from his spot. Instead, he had passed out, and wouldn't wake up.

By the time they'd gotten Tony out of the suit, one of the EMTs told Pepper that this definitely looked like a case of heatstroke, and that her bringing help to him had probably saved his life. They had caught it early, but it was still touch and go, and they wouldn't know about possible lasting damage until much later.

She looked away modestly as they cut off Tony's undersuit, and started dousing him with cold water. They'd just lifted him to the ambulance, when Happy called her to let her know that Rhodey was in the hospital now, and that he had accompanied him there. She told him that she and Tony would be there shortly as well.

It was only when she was sitting in a hospital waiting room next to Happy, in a silence that felt unnatural after the frantic action at the accident site, that she finally let the tears come.

Happy didn't say a thing, but passed her a Kleenex.


	6. Chapter 6

Rhodey had been floating in and out of consciousness, more or less in pain all the time, his mind full of vague memories about hands prodding him, sticking him with needles, moving him, voices talking to him, asking questions, which he hadn't managed to answer most of the time.

When he finally woke up feeling lucid enough to form coherent thoughts, and realized that his legs weren't hurting anymore, he instantly feared the worst.

He raised his head, feeling apprehensive, and looked down. He could see one leg casted and raised up, and the toes of the other foot poking out from under the sheets. He was still in one piece. He sighed out of relief, and let his head sink back into the pillows. That wasn't a very smart move, since it woke up a headache that made his head feel like a combat zone.

"Rhodey! You're awake!" Pepper exclaimed. He turned his head ever so slightly, not to make the pain any worse, and saw her sitting by his bedside.

"Yeah," he answered her.

She leaned closer, and gave him a tight hug. He was too baffled to react at all.

"You have no idea how worried we've been! You've got a brain contusion and a skull fracture, and the doctors warned us that there might be complications..."

"Oh," he said, his voice coming through hoarse and catching in his throat.

She offered him a glass of water, and he took it, absently noting that even though he wasn't going to walk in a while, at least his hands worked just fine. After he'd taken a sip, he spoke up again, this time with more success. "How long was I out?"

"It's been over a day since they brought you in. You've been more-or-less awake a few times, I don't know if you remember it," she answered. "There, I pressed the call button, so someone's coming to take a look at you soon. I think they'll want to run some more tests now that you're conscious."

"So, I guess I'm in for a long sick leave, too."

"I'm afraid so. You've got fractures and burns on both legs," Pepper replied. "But the doctors are optimistic that they should heal, given enough time."

He nodded, realizing it was a bad idea only when he'd already done it. He really wasn't being too sharp at the moment. "Where's Tony?" he asked. Rhodey would've expected to see him by his bedside too, making fun of him for botching up the mission.

"He's at another department, Happy's with him at the moment."

Rhodey frowned, puzzled.

"Right, of course, you wouldn't know..." Pepper muttered. "He had heatstroke, he's been really sick, too, but he's getting better. At least he didn't do any serious damage to his shoulder. They're going to keep him under close monitoring for several days, to make sure there aren't any complications or lasting consequences. So, we're all stuck here for the time being."

"Oh, great."

"We've been trying to arrange it so that the two of you could be in the same room. I'm sure it's going to work out, especially now that you're conscious."

A few minutes later, a doctor showed up, and Rhodey had to struggle through a neurological exam. He thought he did all right, even though his memory of the previous day or so was hazy at best. The doctor said that it was to be expected, and made it very clear that if he started feeling worse, he should let someone know immediately.

Not long after, he was taken out of the room for a CT scan. Apparently, nothing too sinister showed up in it, because afterwards, they didn't take him back to the first hospital room, but to another one. Tony was there, lying in a bed, with a pretty impressive array of monitors and tubes on him, looking about as sick as Rhodey felt.

Nevertheless, Tony smiled at Rhodey and greeted him with "Hey, barbecue steak. How's it going?"

Rhodey snorted and rolled his eyes. "Not too bad, considering," he answered. His headache didn't seem to be going anywhere, and the pain in his legs was growing steadily worse as the pain medication wore off. He almost welcomed it, because it was a clear reminder of the fact that they were still attached to the rest of his body.

"So, you're trying to collect the whole set?" he asked Tony. "Last month, it was hypothermia, this month, the opposite?"

"That's already an old joke," Tony declared. "Besides, they dunked me into ice water to treat this, so the experience wasn't all that new. But hey, you know, it's finally official: I've got a diagnosis stating that I'm too hot!"

Rhodey groaned. This was going to be one very, very long hospital stay.

**********

Damn, he was bored.

Tony was basically back where he'd started, stuck in yet another dull room in yet another boring hospital. At least this time, Rhodey was stuck here with him. Misery loves company, and so on.

Tony wasn't feeling too bad anymore - he sort of felt like he was recovering from the worst hangover of his lifetime, which was saying a lot, considering how many hangovers he had experienced. His shoulder was a bitch, of course, but he'd taken a lot worse. Nevertheless, he'd have to stay in the hospital for monitoring for at least a few days, because, as his attending had informed him, heatstroke could affect almost every organ system in the body, and considering his already colorful medical history, they couldn't take any risks.

Of course, just like the last time, this was almost entirely his own fault. Sure, the explosion had been something he'd had nothing to do with - his staff and S.H.I.E.L.D. were still investigating it. Still, he had been at elevated risk for heat-related trouble because he had been in less-than-perfect health to begin with. If he had taken breaks, drunk more, and put less stress on both his suit's cooling system and his body's thermoregulation, he could have prevented landing himself in the hospital again.

Now that he thought back to his weeks of convalescence at the mansion before the fire, the current situation gave him some perspective. He had been wrong, this was actually much worse than being at home, with nothing but a few specific limitations to his activities. Here, he had nothing to do but read, watch TV, play video games or surf the internet on his laptop, or chat with Rhodey, Pepper and Happy, or - well, all right, there were quite a few things he could do to pass time, but it was still tedious.

Pepper had again taken up her old argument about how he was making jokes about serious things, and Rhodey was mostly rolling his eyes at Tony's antics instead of laughing at them. As for Happy, he never really laughed or smiled anyway. What they didn't get was, Tony's bad jokes weren't just bad jokes. They were a coping mechanism.

Unlike Rhodey, whose recollections about the whole incident had more gaps than a B-movie had plot holes, Tony's memories were painfully accurate. He remembered the thoughts he'd had when he'd started getting seriously hyperthermic. How he'd blamed himself for everything, and how he'd tried to push Pepper away because he'd felt he didn't deserve to get help. Even though he was somewhat ashamed about falling apart like that, he couldn't help feeling that he might have been partially correct, and the idea kept gnawing at him.

Late in the evening of their second day at the hospital, when Pepper had gone home to catch some sleep and Happy was standing guard outside the room, Tony decided it was as good a time as any for a serious conversation.

"Rhodey, you asleep yet?"

"Nope, but if what you're about to say includes 'flames' or 'hotness' or 'heat', I'm going to request a room of my own."

"No, no, nothing like that," Tony replied quickly. "I was just thinking... When I first gave you your armor and you started doing missions with me, did you really want to do that? To put your life at stake in that suit? When you went into that fire - did you do it because you wanted to?"

"Tony, I would never, ever do something just to please you, if that's what you're asking."

"Yeah, right, you wouldn't. What about that girl, what was her name, Lucille? Or maybe I'm confusing her with that other one, Linda or Lindy something? And forgetting about girls, what about that physics teacher who almost flunked me just because I annoyed him?" Tony started listing, but stopped abruptly when he realized he was about to turn this into a joke, too.

"Right, I get your point, though I had reasons of my own for every single thing on that list. But really, Tony, the whole question is ridiculous. Even if I'd never worn that armor, I'd still be career military. Not the safest occupation there is," Rhodey said, his voice picking up volume as he spoke. Actually, he was starting to sound angry. "I went into that fire because there were people there who needed to be saved, because I could help, and I wanted to help. Simple as that. Quit feeling guilty for something as stupid as this. I took that mission of my own free will, no one's saying that it was your fault. On the contrary - if it wasn't for you, I'd have died in there."

It wasn't as if Tony hadn't known that all along, but actually hearing it - and from Rhodey - made him feel like he could breathe freely again for the first time in two days. "Well, you did the same for me in the Arctic," he said casually, to keep Rhodey from noticing how much this had actually bothered him.

"I guess that makes us even. Not that I'm counting."

"That's good, because if you started counting, and listed all those times you've saved my ass when I've been plastered, I'd never be able to make it up to you."

"You could always write me a check. A million dollars ought to do it."

"You don't have any idea what the War Machine armor's worth, do you?"

"No, I don't, and please don't tell me, because if I knew, I'm sure I'd never dare wear it again."

"You're planning on wearing it again, then?"

"Of course I am, but not before I've got my doctor's blessing for it."

"This time, I think I'll wait until I've got that, too."

****************************************************************

**Author's Endnote: **That was it, folks! Thanks for reading, and happy new year. :)


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